Can You Make Me Believe?
by Kiki68
Summary: An arranged marriage caused by the stupidity of their fathers. A woman who has been the third party in the marriage from the beginning. Now three years on Bella can no longer hold on to a husband who is anything but affectionate and a shammed marriage.
1. Preface

**AN**:Okay since i couldn't put the whole summery in the summery box thing here it is :  
>An arranged marriage caused by the stupidity of their fathers. A woman who has been the third party in the marriage from the beginning. Now three years on when the affair hits Bella in the face and she can no longer hold on to a husband who is anything but affectionate and a shammed marriage. Will she find herself leaving her so called marriage or will she find love in the person that made her think love never existed?<p>

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><p><span>Preface<span>

"_I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride."_

_Edward turned to my tear stained face and touched his lips to mine for a second before turning and forcing out a smile, after swiping the tears off my face I followed his lead except my smile wasn't as convincing. I wasn't as good of an actor as he was._

"_I present to you Mr and Mrs Cullen."_

_Before I knew it a whole line of family, friends, distant family and business associates all came to give us hugs and kisses of congratulations. _

The tape rolled to an end. This was my 'Happy anniversary' ritual every year along with a big dinner for my husband.

By 6 I had prepared most of the meal but Edward was a no show.

By 7 the table was set, the food was done and I was nursing a glace of wine waiting for my husband.

By 8 two full plates were on either side of the table, I nibbled bits off of my plate while listening intently for the door to creak open.

By 9 most of my food was in the trash and Edward's plate waiting for him in the oven.

By 10 I was in _our_ cold bed alone with a note downstairs telling my husband where the food was, like I did every night, with an exception that tonight I signed it off with 'Happy Anniversary' instead of my name.

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><p>AN:So this is another story line that quite literally just popped up in my head and I decided to share it with you so let me know what you guys think of it. Good? Bad? Alright? Whatever just pop your thoughts in that little review box.<p> 


	2. Chapter 1

BPOV

Alice was jumping about going crazy as usual except today it was more intensified. Maybe because she was recalling last night's events when her boyfriend, Jasper, got down on one kee. They met nearly 3 years ago at my wedding. Being my best friend and having hardly any family she was my maid of honour and she fell completely smitten by the best man. Cliché right? But it was Alice through and through.

Alice and I were complete polar opposites while she would go out party, have fun and be loud I would prefer to curl up and have a quiet evening with my friends or family or books and while she would just go with the flow I would sit there and overanalyse the situation but somehow we worked even though our different traits probably annoyed each other to no end.

"Oh my and there the sky was so clear like the Gods were in tune with what was happening." See what I mean? Totally cliché.

"Bella! Are you listening?"

"Yes Alice, but did you forget you woke me up at 5am to tell me this and I've been with you while you have been recalling the story? Which was to your parents, my parents, to Em, over the phone Leah and Jake and now to Rose and Esme."

Esme and Rose laughed at Alice's enthusiasm and she giggled embarrassingly.

"Bella, trust me you didn't have the worst. For the past month Jazz has been going crazy asking me and mum how to 'woo' a girl into a proposal. He came up with crazy ideas and he recalled each plan to me about a hundred times. Finally he left me alone and sort help in Ed."

At Rose's last statement my heart dropped, Jasper found help in my husband when making a beautiful proposal for his now fiancé but I never got any romance from Edward let alone a magnificently thought of proposal.

At that precise moment both men came barrelling into the house with goofy smiles. Jasper went straight for Alice and picked her up from where she sat and gave her a long passion filled kiss which was just too sweet. Edward kissed his mother and sister on the cheek before settling beside me.

Edward surprised me by placing his lips on top of mine, but I knew it was just for show since I could feel both Esme's and Rose's eyes on us.

"Awhhh, I'm sorry Ali but Ed and Bella win the cutest couple." Rose leered at us.

Of course none of them knew our marriage was nothing but cute it was all fake, we hardly talked, he never touched me and any displays of affection were in front of people just for show.

Carlisle came into the house not two minutes later with mud covering his normally pristine suit.

I stifled my giggles but I couldn't hold on and burst out laughing, soon everyone joined all except for Esme who had an unusual scowl to her face.

"Carlisle! Get out of the house now. Boys you are both in big trouble but go outside and hose your father down. Dear Lord you're going to ruin the house. Get out now!" Esme screeched.

Carlisle all but ran out with a frightened look on his face.

Before Jasper and Edward could follow his lead Esme called them back. "Good work my babies, but it would have been so much better if he was naked..." She trailed off dreamily. Both Jasper and Edward ran off screaming and gagging and Rosalie sat with a pale face and open mouth while Alice and I were on the floor from laughing so much.

After composing ourselves we made mindless chatter about Alice's upcoming wedding. They had decided they wanted a long engagement and wanted their marriage to be big and elaborate. We had only skimmed a few details since we had a long time to plan but knowing Alice she would probably call me tomorrow and give me more details.

Edward and Jasper entered the room and intervened in our conversation, even though Jasper had given full reign over the wedding to Alice, she still wanted his approval on how things went and they both agreed to that.

Carlisle came back freshly showered in a pair of black slacks and a blue button down.

He went over to Alice first to give his congratulations, then walked over to give his wife a quick peck on the lips and his daughter on the cheek before finally coming over to me.

"There's my beautiful daughter in law!"

"And there's my sexy father in law!" This had always been a joke between us but I'm not joking the man may be in his 40's but is hot as hell.

He gave both my cheeks a kiss and complained about how I never came to see him. During our conversation Edward had walked off on the phone. It was a 'business' call, like hell I would believe that, but everyone else did.

"Carlisle stop hogging her, the girls need to start cooking." Esme ordered.

Us girls walked into the kitchen and started our duties. It was my turn to take the dessert duty, Alice's for starters, Esme's for main course and as always Rose just cut up the salad. She was the worst cook in the world either leaving food burnt or tasteless.

We decided on making homemade pizzas and garlic bread with cheesecake.

"Hey Rose, do you mind calling Em and ask if he's coming today?"

"Yes sure but why?"

"Hunny, I'll need to make 3 cheesecakes instead of 2, he can eat a whole one by himself, plus Esme and Alice will have to make a lot more food with him here."

Emmett McCartney was my cousin from my mother's side as well as Rosalie's boyfriend and Edward and Jasper's best friend.

"Hey Emmy...Mhhmm...No baby I just called to ask are you coming here today?...Yeah? okay...Bye babe, love you too."

"Yeah he's coming." Rose signed happily but the rest of us groaned as we had to make so much more food.

"Hey leave my baby alone." I snickered quietly to that, Em being called a 'baby' was just too funny. When you see him you'd understand.

We all lapsed in silence continuing with our work occasionally the others would complain or compare their partners while I would sit it silence. It was always like this. I couldn't just go _'Hey well my husband doesn't even love me even after nearly three years of marriage. Everything is just for show.'_ Yeah that wouldn't really go down well, especially with his mother and sister in the room.

While Esme was complaining about her husband leaving socks turned inside out with the others agreeing a booming laugh and other softer laughs interrupted the rant.

"Babe you know no matter how much you complain nothing will change." Em said as he hugged Rose from behind and showered her with kisses of apologies. Looking around I noticed the other couples in a similar position and I just couldn't take it and ran out of the kitchen without anyone's notice.

Locking myself in the nearest bathroom my tears set free and I was quietly sobbing to myself. I was so damn jealous. I wanted what they had. I wanted my husband to shower me with adoration and affection telling me he loved me. But I could never have any of that because my husband was doing that to someone else...

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: Woo so I'm biting my nails with this one, do you like it, hate it? Please review and tell me how you feel


	3. Chapter 2

BPOV

The dining table was all set and everyone was seated when I returned. No-one questioned where I had run off to as everyone probably thought I was with Edward.

"Where's Edward dear?" Esme asked when she caught site of me.

"Erm...I'll just go find him." I heard snickering behind me but as usual I ignored it.

I found Edward on one of the lounge chairs on the patio. His face was twisted in frustration as he held his phone to his ear.

"Edward?" I whispered quietly not really wanting to disturb him. Of course he hadn't heard me and continued to listen to what the person on the other end was saying while very nearly ripping out his hair.

Over the years I had learnt Edward had a habit of running his hands through his hair but when he pulled at the ends it was definitely a sign of aggravation.

"Edward?" My voice grew louder.

Edward quickly swivelled round on the chair to face me. He gave a "I got to go." Into the receiver before flipping the phone shut causing the call to end.

"Everyone's waiting for you. Dinners ready." The only response I got was a nod so I turned and walked back in the house, Edward not far behind.

"Hey cuz, I know you and Ed were together, you didn't have to be sneaky about it and pretend to go and find him. He could have just followed you in you know, unless you went for another quickie." Em waggled his eyebrows suggestively as we entered the dining room. Everyone was in hysterics and I shot Em a weak smile while Edward gave him a sharp evil eye.

Edward walked up to the table and pulled out a chair for me, he waited until I was settled in before tucking the chair in. Finally after a little bit of fuss he settled into his own chair.

"Hey you big monkey, why do you never do sweet things like that for me?" Rose questioned as she through a small piece of garlic bread at Em's head.

The piece of bread landed on the table so Em picked it up, shrugged his shoulders and put it in his mouth. He then grabbed the closest bread basket and dumped the contents of garlic bread on his plate before he started stuffing his face.

"Of course the only thing you're interested in is food." Rose muttered. Her hand rose and a loud 'thwack' echoed as Rose's hand connected with the Em's head.

"Ouch Rosie, what's all this violence for." Em whined. "See Esme, your daughter abuses me. Save me!"

"Sometimes I really wonder why I'm dating you." Rose muttered.

"Coz you wuv me." Em said is a very disturbing little girl voice while fluttering his eyelashes.

"Yeah, okay, Princess." Rose snorted.

That was the final straw before everyone fell into fits of laughter excluding Em who carried on eating with a pout on his face. The sight of him made me laugh harder until tears were falling and my stomach was hurting.

Finally the laughter seized after ten minutes and we lapsed into a conversation about wedding dresses.

"Oh we're going to a club tomorrow to celebrate. Everyone has to be there. Including you..." Alice opened her mouth for the other word to come out but Jasper finished off for her.

"Bella and no excuses!"

"You know you both are disgusting sweet. Finishing off each other's sentences like that." Em boomed.

I had to agree with him although it did show the deep connection between the couple. My heart burst for my bestfriend. I was so happy for her.

Esme and Rose went to collect the pizzas from the humongous oven in Esme's kitchen. We left them in there so they wouldn't get cold while everyone enjoyed the garlic bread and salad.

Next to me Edward's phone vibrated once alerted a message, he discreetly took out his phone. I caught a glimpse at the first letter of the sender 'K'. The happiness I felt a few moments ago completely disappeared. My hands were clenched fists under the table and were shaking as I tried to contain the hurt I was feeling.

During the rest of the meal Edward continued to send and receive texts. The rest of the family carried on as normal not noticing mine or Edward's lack of interest in the conversation.

Finally Jasper announced that he and Alice would be leaving soon as he wanted to 'celebrate' in private with his future wife.

This caused the rest of the family to get up and clear the kitchen and the table. Of course Alice tried to help but Esme shooed her off with containers filled with left overs after stating that the 'celebrating' would probably last to the early hours of the morning and most of tomorrow so both Alice and Jasper would be too beat to cook.

As usual Rose cringed at the idea of her mother being so calm about her son having sex as Alice blushed and I laughed. Although her comment did make me shudder as I was left an image of Ali and Jazz at it. Erughh! Disgusting!

After everything was cleared up and cleaned Em and Rose decided to leave.

This left Edward and I with his parents as Edward wanted to speak to his father about an upcoming business deal he was unsure about taking.

"Come on Bella, let's leave the boys to what they do best. I've got something to show you." Esme ushered me out of the living room into her huge walk in wardrobe.

Esme went straight to the side where her jewellery hung. There was a safe attached to the wall Esme quickly put the code in and pulled out a box. She opened the box and turned it to show me.

Inside lay a delicate yet extravagant diamond necklace. Every inch of the design was perfect and the soft curves of the Cullen symbol let me know it was definitely Esme's design. Esme didn't have to tell me who it was for I already knew.

"Alice will love it." I said in awe. The necklace definitely screamed Alice.

"I figured it could be the something new she wears on her wedding day. I know she doesn't have family so..." She trailed off. "Anyway you're her bestfriend so I wanted to show you first, you know in case she might not like it."

"Esme don't worry." I reassured. "Alice will definitely love the necklace. It's something she would wear for sure. It's amazing."

Esme let an audible breathe out at my praise.

Carlisle came barrelling into the cupboard at the same moment. "Esme, are you done? Our son is getting slightly impatient to go home."

"Oh of course. We'll be down in a second."

Esme quickly put away the necklace following me downstairs. As Carlisle had said Edward was impatiently walking from one side of the hallway to the other until her heard us coming down the stairs.

Esme quickly scurried off to Edward and held both his cheeks in her hand. "Oh my impatient, impatient, son what are we going to do with you? Could you not wait to take your wife home?" She giggled and pinched his cheeks.

Edward gave a smile in return before planting a kiss on his mother's cheek. "You know me Maa. Anyway we better be going."

After a quick goodbye we left in Edward's Audi in complete silence.

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: Hello guys. Yes it's been a long time. Yes I'm sorry. And yes my updates will probably be slow and very irregular. I'm sorry I try and find time to update when I can but sometimes life just gets in the way. I hope you all understand. Anyway read and review!


	4. Chapter 3

BPOV

Edward and I shared a modest two story, two bedroom house. It was beautiful, if I must say so myself. Edward owned the place and after we got married I moved in. The house was modern and contained most of the 'in' technology. It was modest and homey looking from the outside and after adding feminine touches here and there, the bachelor pad now felt much more welcoming. Edward had given me free reign to do as I wished to the house and I did just that, making the house into a home.

I was currently lying in bed, on my side with my back facing Edward. He was on the other side of the bed in a similar position leaving a considerable amount of unused space between us in our California King.

At the beginning of our marriage we had come to a silent agreement that I would take, what was now, the guest room. Unfortunately due to frequent unexpected visits from our nosey family members we would have to rush to make the bed look unused and come up with an excuse to why our clothes hung in different rooms. Due to Edward's workaholic nature it was easy to say that we just didn't have time to sort through our clothes and make room for mine in Edward's walk in. After about three months we had decided sharing a bedroom would be the easiest.

The flashing red number on the alarm clock read 5.59, a minute before it was about to ring. I turned the alarm off and trudged my way to the bathroom. After finishing off with my morning rituals I dressed simply in a pair of grey yoga pants and a purple tank top.

When I arrived back in the room, Edward was out of bed. I knew he was probably finishing of in the gym. Everyday both Edward and I would wake up at six, while I would use the bathroom he used this time to have his one hour workout. At seven I would start preparing breakfast while it was his turn to take the bathroom. Finally by eight he would leave for work or as for weekends, like today, he would be doing his own thing. Plain. Simple. Boring. Our interactions were kept to a minimum.

I made my way to my favourite place in the house. The kitchen. Typical right? 'A women's place is in the kitchen' as some people would say. But no, the kitchen was a place I could be free, exploring different recipes or making my own. As childhood dream of mine was to own was to own a cute little bakery.

My kitchen was made from soft-wood flooring, white granite worktops and deep brown cabinets. At the centre of the kitchen was an island which fit four. On the other side of the kitchen lay an oval cherry wood dining table. It was only used for when family were around.

I decided on making a Spanish omelette for breakfast. I chopped up the ingredients quickly and beat the egg. While I fried the egg I quickly popped in a few toasts. At that point I could hear Edward's footstep thudding down the stairs.

He was also dressed casually in grey sweatpants and a red t-shirt indicating that he wasn't going out anytime soon.

"Is there anything you need help with?"

"Erm...The orange juice still needs to be made."

Edward quickly got the orange juice maker out and popped the oranges in and a jug underneath.

"Anything else?"

"You can start putting whatever spreads you want on the toast." Edward nodded and carefully got down to work, by carefully I mean carefully. The spread would cover the entire toast very neatly. It was kind of like an art piece and very amusing to watch.

"What spreads would you like?"

"Just some bertolli please."

To an outsider's eye this would look like a wonderful husband helping his wife out with breakfast, it hurt me because we weren't a happily married couple; we lived more like awkward flat mates.

"Are you doing anything today?" Edward asked after stuffing a large piece of omelette down his throat.

"I'm going down to the bakery today, but that's not till after lunch and I'm not sure if I'll be back for dinner." The bakery was owned by a close friend, Tanya, who was having trouble baking the 'perfect cake' and called for my help.

"Alright, I'll get take out or make something. Do want me to get something for you?"

"No thanks." Edward nodded and left his plate in the sink before rushing off to the study.

"You look emotionally drained trying to keep those pretences up." That was the first thing that flew out of Tanya's mouth when I walked in the bakery's kitchen.

"Tan, please not today."

"Sweety you look...nevermind. All I'm saying is you need out."

"I still have no idea how you know."

"Honey, remember when you were ten and I was able to babysit you when I finally turned sixteen." I nodded. "Well at that age my teenage mind was filled with wanting to learn about people's behaviour. Kate only sent of bitch vibes 24/7 so I tried looking really closely at how you behaved and reacted."

"That's really creepy." I murmured.

"Shut up!" She laughed, nudging her hips to mine. "Anyway what I'm saying is that I've studied you for a long time, I know how you would react. Look when Edward kisses you, you always have a shocked look on your face which lasts for a second before you play your part. When Edward holds you, you get slightly uncomfortable but then hide behind that fake smile of yours. I could go on but my point is I've noticed it and I know there's something wrong with your marriage. I'm not going to pry but I'm just looking out for you."

"Is it really easy to catch on to?"

Tan sighed really loud before facing my direction, pressing her hip to the counter and crossing her arms across her chest. "No. Like I've said it's easy for _me_ to spot these things after studying you for almost eleven years."

"Why are you not a psychologist?" I asked to lighten the mood which earned a laugh from Tanya.

"Bells, you know I share your love for the kitchen, psychology was only to keep my teenage mind occupied, never would I turn that into a career."

"It's mega creepy as well."

"Oh shut it you!"

"So I'm curious how many people have you 'studied'?" I asked animating speech marks with my fingers.

Tan whacked my hands with the dish towel before answering. "Only you."

"Why am I so special?"

"I just found you interesting."

"Uhuh. What's so interesting about me?"

"At school I only got horny vibes from everyone around me and at home I only got bitch vibes from Kate. Really nothing interesting there. You were like my guinea pig and on the plus side you were really easy to read."

"Still seriously disturbed, you stalker."

"What can I say sweet-cheeks, you're so beautiful, everything about you turns me on."

"Ew, Tan. Seriously a week without Ethan and you've turned into a horny bitch."

"Oh Ethy baby." 'Ethy baby' seriously the woman's on a high. "Okay enough chit chat we need to make this cake perfecto." She went off into dreamland about her boyfriend who by the way was coming back tomorrow from a week long business trip.

"Oh I found the ring. I think he might pop the question tomorrow." So that's why she wanted a special perfect cake.

"Tan I told you to stop snooping."

"I know. I know. But I couldn't help it." She said sheepishly. "The ring is perfect I mean it somehow captures us."

"Since when did you become complete cheese?"

"Oh stop you spoil sport. I mean it's been haunting me for _months_. I've seen the ring box in his pocket. I just had to see it." I swear the woman was vibrating ever so slightly. "I know we've only been dating for a year but it feels right you know?"

No, I didn't know but I nodded anyway.

"Imagine the proposal. Oh it better be romantic..." She ranted off about her perfect proposal, wedding, marriage. Everything!

Everywhere around me people were finding their Mr Right's. I wondered if I would ever have a change to find mine.

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: So I thought I'd give you a peak at Edward and Bella's unpretending life. Boring huh? Yeah I think so too.

And then there's Tanya. Just to clarify she knows about Edward and Bella, she thinks they're having trouble in paradise and she doesn't know the full story but she still thinks Bella is better without Edward. She's not a main character but she will pop up a few times and when she does it'll be important.

So leave your thoughts behind


	5. Chapter 4

Never again! Never again would I go bridal shopping where my mother and mother in law were present. Oh Lord, my head was throbbing!

"_BELLA!" Alice screeched once she caught site of me before bursting into fits of giggles._

"_Oh thank God." Rose muttered as she pulled me into a powerful hug._

"_I thought we were supposed be finding wedding dresses not playing 7, 11 or doubles?"_

"_Trust me if you heard the words coming out of those two," Rose shuddered pointing and my mother and then hers. "no amount of alcohol in the world would make you drunk enough and I've only been here for five minutes, poor Alice."_

"_There was this one time, I think it was Halloween. Yep, it was Halloween. Charlie came home in this cop outfit. Oh lord, the handcuffs..."_

_I quickly got to where my mother was and covered her mouth with my hand. "I think I'm going to be sick."_

"_Oh Bella you're finally here." Esme giggled out. "You know, your father in law does this wonderful thing with his tongue. I'm sure Edward..." This time Rose came over and clamped her hand over her mother's mouth. _

"_So you see why Alice is practically wasted?" Rose asked, horror and disgust clearly evident in her voice. _

"_Poor girl and wasn't she supposed to be driving Esme and my mother?"_

"_Yup and from the information I got out of Alice they were already tipsy before even getting in the car."_

_I looked over to where Alice was, who had two fingers in her ears and singing, very loudly, to 'twinkle twinkle little star'. Oh great!_

"_Well all of them are too drunk to even bother looking at dresses. I'm going to talk to Belinda to reschedule." I said quickly and hauled my ass out of the room like it was on fire._

_I went to the reception area and found Belinda whistling to herself while typing something into her computer._

"_Hello, Belinda."_

"_Oh my, hello dear. Oh wow, won't you just look at you. You look gorgeous my dear. Married life suits you. Any babies coming soon? Before Alice's wedding? Oh I can design the cutest little outfit. Oh won't you look at me. Talking your ear off as usual, can't even get a word in can you dear?" I was just about to speak... "Has Alice picked out a dress yet? I put out the most prestigious collection for that girl. If she doesn't like any I can bring out some more?"_

"_Actually Belinda, I was hoping we could reschedule. Let's just say Esme, Renee and Alice aren't fit enough to look at any sort of dresses. In this state they would probably pick out something pink and frilly." Belinda let out one of her weird laughs._

"_Of course my dear. The state your mothers walked in, no wonder Alice ordered champagne glass after champagne glass."_

_I made my way back to the bridal room. "Rose why don't you take your mother home. I'll take Alice and Renee home. I think it's best to separate them."_

Separating Renee and Esme was no use. Throughout the ride home I was bombarded with my mother's sex stories and I could do nothing to stop them. Of course, this led to me consuming excess amount of liquor to try and forget my mother's words and this led me to the position I'm in now, head between hands hoping that by some miracle my headache would just vanish.

I rolled over to my side and landed with a loud _thump_ on the floor. "Ouch" I grounded out.

I noticed I wasn't in my precious California King, I wasn't even in my own house. I was at Tanya's, how I ended up here I had no idea but I my phone and keys on the nightstand, so that must be a good sign. That's when I heard loud noises penetrating through the walls, so I thought I would investigate.

"Kate you can't be serious. Are you crazy?" Oh God, what is she doing here.

"Oh I'm serious!" Came bitchface's squeaky reply. Kate and I never got along. Maybe it was to do with the resentment that Tanya found a better sister in me. Or maybe it was due to her over flirtatious attitude towards my husband. It didn't matter, we never liked each other and yes it's very high school of us.

"Kate he's a married man. I don't know who this guy is, all I know is that he's married. God, I don't know what kind stupid promises he made you." Holy shit. I was just about to make my way up the stairs but the next words made me freeze.

"So what Tan? For the record he didn't promise me anything. I'm happy being whatever Edward wants me to be."

"You're fucking Edward?" Tanya questioned, each word coming out slowly. I couldn't see her reaction but I heard a chair scrape against the floor and a soft thump as she slumped against it. "You're fucking Edward." She repeated this time it was more of a statement rather than a question.

That's when reality hit me and the words sunk into me. I felt bile rising in my throat and traitorous tears escape my eyes. I could hear loud noises in the background but the only thing I could focus on were 'Kate and Edward together'.

The noises continued to get louder and louder as the argument moved to the hallway where I was.

Before I could escape Kate caught site of me and her eyes, wide with shock, met my tear filled ones for a second before she hurried out the door.

"Bella! Oh God, I'm so sorry sweetie." Tan muttered into my hair and she engulfed me into a hug.

My silent tears turned into loud sobs as I babbled. "I knew. God I knew. I just hoped...prayed. Prayed I was wrong. God, I'm so stupid." My sobs turned into chuckles.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"

"Tan, do you know what today is?"

"Erm, no. Should I?" She questioned, extremely confused and slightly worried.

"What's the date?"

"7th April. What are you getting at?...Holy shit it's been three years."

"Three years." I murmured. "Look Tan, I got to get going."I released her grip on me and descended my way down the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"Home." I wasn't sure if I could still call the place I lived home but it was a place I had learnt to love over the last three years.

"Wait! Hold on right there. First you hear my sister admitting that she's been having an affair with _your_ husband, then you dissolve into tears, claiming that you knew it was happening, then you laugh at the irony of today's date and now you're going home. Bella I'm so damn confused."

"Look Tanya, I can't explain but promise me you won't tell a soul."

"But B..." She protested.

"Promise me Tan." I begged, giving her my best pleading look.

"Fine." I walked toward the door and gave Tanya one last look, reminding her of the promise she made.

I made my way home without breaking into tears but I was so damn angry. More at myself than Edward. I knew what was happening and yet I refused to believe it and made no attempts to stop it. God Bella, how could you be so stupid. How could I even think he would be faithful towards me? It had always been Kate. It would _always_ be Kate.

Once inside the house Edward and I shared, I pulled out the biggest glass I could find and filled it with the first liquor I could get my hands on. Making my way to the couch, I pulled out the DVD that held the day I had become Mrs Cullen and willed myself not to cry. I wouldn't cry over him, he wasn't worth it.

"_I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride."_

_Edward turned to my tear stained face and touched his lips to mine for a second before turning and forcing out a smile, after swiping the tears off my face I followed his lead except my smile wasn't as convincing. I wasn't as good of an actor as he was._

"_I present to you Mr and Mrs Cullen."_

_Before I knew it a whole line of family, friends, distant family and business associates all came to give us hugs and kisses of congratulations. _

The tape rolled to an end. This was my 'Happy anniversary' ritual every year along with a big dinner for my husband.

By 6 I had prepared most of the meal but Edward was a no show.

By 7 the table was set, the food was done and I was nursing a glace of wine waiting for my husband.

By 8 two full plates were on either side of the table, I nibbled bits off of my plate while listening intently for the door to creak open.

By 9 most of my food was in the trash and Edward's plate waiting for him in the oven.

By 10 I was in _our_ cold bed alone with a note downstairs telling my husband where the food was, like I did every night, with an exception that tonight I signed it off with 'Happy Anniversary' instead of my name.

My dreams were filled with Kate and Edward and awoke me with a start. I stared at the ceiling too scared to close my eyes when the front door opened and then closed. Footsteps followed before they abruptly stopped as another door opened and then closed.

Rushing out of the bed I made my way to the study, my anger fuelling with each step. I flung the door to the study open and watched it crash against the wall.

"Bella...?"

"Get off the damn phone Edward." Edward looked at me weird, I had never spoken to him like this but did as I demanded.

"Hey what's wrong?" He questioned, looking at my furious face with worry.

"What's wrong? Huh he asks me 'what's wrong'?"I mocked rather hysterically.

"Bella seriously what is the matter?" Edward once again questioned clearly aggravated by my complete change of demeanour.

"Kate is what's wrong, Edward," I spat out her name venomously.

Edward's face froze making me snort.

"You didn't think I knew you were fucking someone else. God how stupid do you think I am."

"Bella..." He tried to interrupt but I had to get this out.

"I prayed. God I prayed that it wasn't true. In the back of my mind I knew you were fucking someone else, showing your love to someone else. Did you think I didn't want a marriage Edward? Huh? Did you think I wanted to waste my life being your maid pretending I was happy?"

"I didn't think..." I wouldn't let him get a word in.

"No of course you didn't think. All those '_business_' calls. How many '_business_' meetings were real? Huh?"

"Bella, yes she was on those business meeting but you know she's a part of the company."

"What does she specialise in? Whoring around?" Edward face turned into shock as he tried to find a reply.

"That's not..."

"That's not what Edward? That's not what she specialises in? Then what is it? Fucking married men?"My voice quivered slightly as the words I spoke hit me like a ton of bricks.

Edward noticed my change and tried to calm me down. "We need to talk about this. Come, sit down."

"You know I can't even look at you. I'm going, don't even bother looking for me and if someone asks how about you tell the truth for once?" I willed myself to be strong and I made my way of the study.

"Bella don't go. Come on please." The words he spoke angered me. Shame they were a little too late.

I whirled around with the heels of my foot and pointed my finger straight at him. "Why? 'Cause you can't cook or clean for yourself? Well fuck you Edward Cullen."

I ran away from my husband who was following me, begging for me to come back. I jumped into my car and sped away as the floodgates finally unleashed themselves.

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: Yes I know it's been a long time. Yes I am very sorry. No there is nothing I can do about it. My life is just too busy at the moment and sadly but truly some things are just more important than FF. Anyway I hope you like, mind any mistake I've proofread it like a million times. Review and let me know what you think.


	6. Chapter 6

BPOV

My heart ripped into shreds as I took one last look at my husband before I drove round the bend. His arm was awkwardly stretched out in front of him like he was finally letting go of the strings that held our marriage.

The trees that shielded our house and kept our secrets hidden cleared as I turned onto the freeway.

After driving around with no destination in mind for hours I decided I needed somewhere to stay. My parents were shocked to say the least when I knocked on their front door but just ushered me towards my old bedroom when they saw my tear stained face.

The room was the same as I had left it three years ago, the same lavender sheets, the same cream walls, the same *NSYNC posters and the same glow in the dark stars. A small sense of relief washed over me as I walked into the familiarity of my childhood bedroom.

After a few moments of whispering outside the door my mother came in and sat next to me on the bed.

"I'm guessing this is about Edward." She stated as I nodded my head in answer.

"Do you want to maybe talk about it?" She questioned.

I wanted to laugh and scream at her that it was their fault but I just shook my head instead.

The hand that was placed on my bed moved up to cup my face before my mother pulled me into her embrace and stroked my head just like when I was little. The tears began to fall again as I sought comfort that I needed for the last three years in my mother.

She sighed and pulled my face back so she could look into my eyes.

"Sweetheart, its three in the morning, why don't you try and get some sleep while make sure your father doesn't go out and hunt Edward with the rifle he's got?" She said gently, the slight humour she added made me smile but when I heard _his_ name my eyes began to water again.

My mother tucked me in and gave me a kiss on the forehead before exiting the room. The emotions of the day washed over me and soon I found myself falling asleep with the tears still falling.

The vibrations of my phone woke me up and I snatched it from where it was making the horrid noise. Thirty-eight missed calls. Twenty-three voice mails. Seventeen texts. A few were from Tanya but the majority of them were from Edward asking where I was, if I was safe and lastly begging me to come home.

_Home. _I had no home.

I wasn't ready to talk to him, by _any_ means of communication so I replied to Tanya instead.

**I'm at my parents house don't worry about me. Pass the message on to Edward that I'm fine and safe.**

After I cleaned and dressed myself I followed the sweet smell of waffles down to the kitchen. My father was in the kitchen reading _The Seattle Times_ while my mother prepared the last batch of our breakfast while whistling along to the radio.

"Oh, I didn't see you, hunny. Why don't you sit down I've nearly finished with these." My mum said pointing to the waffles with her head and patting the chair.

Although the smell was delicious, my stomach churned when my mother placed a waffle on the plate in front of me. However, my father's eyes had been fixated upon me since my arrival into the kitchen, assessing me, so I gingerly picked up my knife and fork, forcing down a few bites.

My father huffed when I placed my fork down declaring I was done. He opened his mouth to say something but my mother's sharp look cut him off. She understood that I needed time and didn't need to be bitched out, probably from her own experiences of heartache and silly fights between her and my father. Although they were never to an extent that she had to leave the house, but my parents loved each other and our situations were _so_ far apart.

The rustling of clothes and a soft thump on my face woke me up from my peaceful slumber. Another sharp and hard object hit my leg and...

"What the hell?" I screamed as a rubber band snapped against my forehead.

"Finally you're up, princess."

"What the hell are you doing here?" I groaned our only to notice a stack of clothes on top of me and a heeled pump.

"Did you really just chuck this shoe at me?" I questioned holding the death trap up.

"You sleep like the dead. What can I do?" Tanya giggled out.

"God I hate you!" I huffed and slammed myself back into a lying position but before I could close my eyes again a hand wrapped around my arm and yanked me off the bed and onto the floor.

"Woah, calm down Mrs Muscle!"

"Yeah, yeah. Get out of bed then." Her eyes were steely and I knew fighting would be futile.

I walked out of the bathroom and saw Tanya waiting patiently for me on my now done up bed with her heeled pump back on her foot.

"Er, you are not wearing that."

I looked down at my attire of a pair of sweatpants and one of my father's old t-shirts.

"What's wrong with this?"

"Come on, I know you have better style then that."

"But why dress up when I'm at home all day?"

"Oh no you're not."

"What?"

"We're having girl's day. Shopping, dinner and clubbing."

"Perfect." I muttered sarcastically.

"Please, you've been brooding for a week. It's time for stage two of dealing with heartbreak."

"And what are these stages?"

"Stage one is what you've been doing all week long. Stage two is having fun with your girlfriends. And finally stage three is to do the first two while getting totally wasted and catching every guy's attention."

"You should write a book 'Heartbreak for Dummies'. Best seller right there." I rolled my eyes as I mocked her stupid 'heartbreak stages'.

"There's my witty Bella, I thought I missed you." Tanya replied before walking to my closet while mumbling to herself.

Although she stopped short and let out a shriek.

"What the hell is this?" She questioned pointing to the lack of clothing in wardrobe, at least I thought so.

"Firstly where the hell are your clothes and secondly why the hell are all the items in here for teenagers."

"Well as you've so wonderfully forgotten, I got married three years ago and the clothes I didn't want to take I left here. I told my mum to give them to charity but I guess she hasn't got round to doing that yet. And to answer your second question three years ago I was in high school, not that I'm much older than a teenager."

"Oh yes how can I forget? It must be your attitude of a middle aged women."

I decided not to reply instead silently fuming at the fact she called me a middle age women.

Clothes got thrown at my face and I sullenly got out of my comfy clothing. The clothes Tanya chose hadn't seen daylight in almost three years and my body had grown slightly causing the jeans to be bordering discomfort and my breasts practically falling out of the tank top.

"Perfect!" Tanya exclaimed gleefully once she made me do a ridiculous twirl.

"This is not perfect." I disagreed. "This is slutty."

"Oh come on, there's no harm in showing a little skin Nun Isabella."

"No but I can barely walk in these jeans and this top looks like it's from the children's section."

"Oh stop whining. At least you don't look like a fool with a gender identity disorder anymore."

I huffed and slipped on my worn on torn Converse's, ignoring the shiny red stilettos, before stomping my way down the stairs.

Picking up my bag from the side table I walked out the front door and over to Tanya's care patiently waiting for her while wishing this day would end quickly.

"God I'm so full." I moaned.

After a hugely expensive shopping spree, leaving me feeling extremely guilty. Here we were at _Plaisir Coupable_, a restaurant that only had chocolate on their menu.

Without thinking I indulged myself using a very shiny card that hardly saw daylight. It was what _he _gave to me after we got married. Although I had enough money sitting comfortably in my bank account since I didn't attend college I thought paybacks a bitch right? So I used his money. Well legally our money. Technically his money. Never the less I felt guilty.

"Stop brooding." Tanya snapped at me. "I mean it's your money anyway."

"Legally it's our money. Technically it's his. I mean he earned it, it's just in _our_ bank account."

"Semantics B, I mean he didn't give you that card as a keepsake at the bottom of your purse. It's not like it could hurt I mean the money you've spent in a tiny fraction compared to the billions Edward owns." When she put it like that... "And stop flinching every time I say _Edward's _name."

God, I felt like a petulant child being told off by her mother.

After settling the bill we set back off to my parents.

Once we got there I was primped and papered like a princess. Well a slutty one considering what I was wearing.

The dress I was forced into was a long sleeved and covered it gold sequins. It was form-fitting and fell just above mid thigh making me feel extremely sexy especially when paired with the red stilettos I...ignored earlier.

Tanya had gone for a much simpler look choosing to wear a backless LBD accessorising herself with a dangerously high pair of orange ankle boots.

"Oh hell no! What the hell is wrong with you?" I screeched causing many heads to turn as I glared at the sign in front of me 'Club REJ'.

The bouncer's head turned and gave me a half smile, waving us over. Of course he knew who I was. The owner's wife.

"I hate you." I seethed earning a frightened reaction from the cloak clerk.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. Ethan wanted to come here..."

"So this isn't a girls night?"

"It is but..."

"Whatever." I stormed off to the bar.

A hand slammed on the side of me. I looked up to see Tanya with fury in her eyes.

"You need to stop acting like a child. You're going to have to face Edward sooner or later. Anyway what's the chances of him being here?"

"High considering he's the part owner and is looking for the next hot thing to take home tonight."

Tanya gave out a frustrated grunt before leaving me alone at the bar to drown my sorrows.

The bartender came round and I ordered a couple of shots. As soon as they appeared in front of me I downed them and ordered my next drink. While waiting for it I examined the club. It was classy and sophisticated, not that I expected any less from the Cullen siblings.

Feeling someone's eyes on me, my eyes swept the room until they caught a pair of green eyes. He was here, standing casually in a pristine suit sans tie with the top couple of buttons undone. His hair was wild and his usual smooth skin was replaced by a few days old stubble. In one hand he held a crystal rocks glass filled with amber liquid and the other flittered through the mop of hair. Of course he looked gorgeous especially given his rough look.

Feeling lightheaded I stumbled around to face the bar and ordered another drink before plonking down on the empty bar stool.

"The drink is on me. In fact anything the lady has ordered add to my tab." The closeness of his voice made me jump as he shouted above the music to the bartenders who replied with a quick 'yes sir' before scurrying over to the next customer.

"You pay at your own club?" I snorted once I gained composer.

"No, it just helps with recording sales, just in case anything goes wrong you know? Not that I use it much considering I have a mini bar in my office." I could hear the smirk in his voice, whether out of pride or arrogance, I wasn't sure.

Once again a snort forced itself out of me, "Does it charm yourself with the..."

Edward let out a frustrated grunt before I could finish the sentence. He swirled the bar stool I was sitting on around so I came face to chest with Edward. The musky smell of man whirled around me and my hands tightened around the edge of the bar stool willing myself not to run and face up to the man who broke me. Oh how I wanted to run.

The feeling of hands on my shoulders made me jump, they moved upwards until my face were cupped within them. The more he moved forward, the more I moved back until my back hit the bar.

Edward moved my hair making it gather on one side of my neck and whispered in my ear, "I'm sorry Isabella, I can't tell you that enough."

And just like that he was gone.

I couldn't tell him that I didn't need his apologies and I couldn't walk away with all my dignity like I had wanted. But the one thing I could do was tell how remorseful Edward was. I could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

A few more shots found their way in front of me and I downed them quickly before setting off to find Tanya. I found her on the dance floor and dragged her out of the club towards the car.

We didn't speak as she drove us home and we didn't speak as I once again cried myself to sleep.

The next morning the reflection in the mirror was horrid. My eyes were red and puffy with black streaks across my cheeks and my hair all over the place. After brushing, washing and dressing I made my way downstairs where Tanya was waiting with a steaming cup of coffee and I pile of buttered toast.

"I'm surprised I didn't turn into stone after waking up to your face." Oh she never does stop with her remarks.

As per usual ignoring her was the best option for me instead I rolled my eyes and she laughed silently to herself.

As I made my way to get milk from the fridge I spotted a bouquet of brightly coloured daises sitting on the countertop. Out of curiosity I checked the tag on the side of it.

_Bella, I know you don't want to hear from my right now but these reminded me of you, a hidden gem. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you but I hope we can resolve our issues. I have a lot of explaining and grovelling to do. Please please please call me._

_Edward _

"You need to talk to him B, it's been two weeks. I saw you with him yesterday but by the way you cried yourself to sleep it didn't seem to be a good conversation. You need to resolve this." Tanya gave my shoulder a squeeze and a sad smile before leaving me to my own thoughts.

After reading the message twice more I knew what I had to do.

* * *

><p>I know I know, it has been a very long time. I apologise. Some of you have been asking if I am going to finish this story. The answer is yes. I plan on finishing all my stories. The question is when? Well even I don't know the answer to that. I am so so so busy at the moment. I know I may lose some readers but I hope you guys stay with me or come back to read it in the future. Anyway don't forget to leave your thoughts behind, I love reading them<p> 


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